The Wien is a river that flows through the capital of
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
.
Geography
The river Wien is long, of which are within the city. Its
drainage basin
A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...
covers an area of , both in the city and in the neighbouring
Vienna Woods
The Vienna Woods (, ) are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The and range of hills is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area with the Viennese ...
. Its source lies in the western Vienna Woods near
Rekawinkel
Pressbaum is a town in the district of St. Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria.
In 1881, Johannes Brahms completed his Second Piano Concerto while in the town.
It belonged to Wien-Umgebung District
Bezirk Wien-Umgebung was a D ...
and its mouth at the eastern end of the city centre of Vienna, next to the
Urania
Urania ( ; ; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and astrology. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass.
T ...
, where it flows into the
Donaukanal
The Donaukanal (, ''Danube Canal'') is a former arm of the river Danube, now regulated as a water channel (since 1598), within the city of Vienna, Austria. It is long and, unlike the Danube itself, it borders Vienna's city centre, Innere St ...
("Danube Canal"), a branch of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
.
The Wien is subject to huge variations in flow. In its headwaters in the Vienna Woods, the soil is underlain by
sandstone
Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
. Because of this, during heavy rain the soil quickly saturates, resulting in substantial runoff. Thus, the flow of the Wien can quickly increase from a creek-like to in the heaviest rains or during the spring snowmelt in the Vienna Woods, a ratio of over 1:2000.
The Wien River and the city of Vienna
Within the city limits, the river bed consists almost entirely of concrete, which was installed between 1895 and 1899 in order to stop the devastating floods, sometimes accompanied by
cholera
Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
, which the river had regularly caused before that time. At the same time, the
Stadtbahn
(; German for 'city railway'; plural ) is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...
("city railway") was built, which makes use of the concrete river bed and is only separated from the river by a wall. It is now part of the
Vienna U-Bahn
The Vienna U-Bahn () is a rapid transit system serving Vienna, Austria. The five-line network consists of of route, serving 109 stations. 459.8 million passengers rode the U-Bahn in 2019.
The modern-day U-Bahn opened on 25 February 1978, after ...
system.
Along the course of the river, the
Naschmarkt
The Naschmarkt is a popular fruit and vegetable market in Vienna. Located at the Wienzeile over the Wien River, it is about long. Originally known as Aschenmarkt, it started to be called the Naschmarket around 1820.
Nowadays, one can buy fres ...
and the
Theater an der Wien
The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...
can be found. Much of the river is covered over in the city, particularly in front of
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunn Palace (Austrian German, German: Schloss Schönbrunn ) was the main summer residence of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg rulers, located in Hietzing, the 13th district of Vienna. The name ''Schönbrunn'' (meaning "beautiful spring") ha ...
, in the
Meidling
Meidling () is the 12th district of Vienna (). It is located just southwest of the central districts, south of the River Wien, west of the Gürtel belt, and east and southeast of Schönbrunn Palace. Meidling is a heavily populated urban area w ...
and Naschmarkt neighbourhoods and around
Karlsplatz
is a town square on the border of the first and fourth districts of Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most frequented and best connected transportation hubs in Vienna. The Karlskirche is located here.
The first district can be reached either ...
near the city centre.
The River Gate was built in
Jugendstil
(; "Youth Style") was an artistic movement, particularly in the decorative arts, that was influential primarily in Germany, Austria and elsewhere in Europe to a lesser extent from about 1895 until about 1910. It was the German and Austrian cou ...
between the years 1903 to 1906 and was opened to the general public on 15 November 1906.
In April 2013, the City of Vienna approved plans to build three terraces along the river valley. Each terrace (or "zone") will cover a total area of . The first terrace was expected to be completed by 2015.
New leisure areas along the River Wien valley, ''Vienna City Administration''
/ref>
Cycling and walking beside the Wien
For safety reasons, cycling or walking in the concrete bed of the Wien is officially prohibited. A continually controversial topic is whether to build cycle paths and footpaths next to the water. Proponents believe the water flow can be safely regulated, while opponents do not believe this is possible. In 2005, a short segment was opened to the public, near Hütteldorf railway station. It features an audible and visual alarm system to warn users to leave the path if flooding is imminent. Extensions to this path have been proposed, but continue to receive much opposition. The path is open from March to October.
Nomenclature
In German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, the river is colloquially called the "". Since English uses the name "Vienna" for what in German is called "", in English the river is sometimes called the "Vienna River".
Picture gallery
Image:Wienflussquelle Kaiserbründl.jpg, The source of the Wien River, the , located at Pfalzberg near Pressbaum
Pressbaum is a town in the district of St. Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria.
In 1881, Johannes Brahms completed his Second Piano Concerto while in the town.
It belonged to Wien-Umgebung District
Bezirk Wien-Umgebung was a D ...
Image:Wiener_Stadtbahn.jpg, During the Stadtbahn
(; German for 'city railway'; plural ) is a German word referring to various types of urban rail transport. One type of transport originated in the 19th century, firstly in Berlin and followed by Vienna, where rail routes were created that co ...
era
Image:Wien_U4_Hietzing.jpg, Underground line U4 and Hofpavillon by Otto Wagner
Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau mo ...
Image:Wien_Fluss_Ende.jpg, Bridges near the mouth: the upper one is a footbridge, while the lower one carries the Underground line U4
Image:BMVIT-01.jpg, The mouth of the Wien River
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wien (River)
Rivers of Vienna
Tributaries of the Danube
Wien-Umgebung District
Hietzing
Meidling
Margareten
Mariahilf
Wieden
Landstraße
Innere Stadt
Rivers of Austria